The detention in France of a charter plane bound for Nicaragua has renewed attention on the Central American nation’s role as a springboard for migrants from across the world seeking to make their way to the United States, reports The Guardian.
The flight, which left the United Arab Emirates on 21 December with 303 passengers of Indian nationality, was grounded during a refueling stop after an anonymous tip-off alleging human trafficking.
The passengers, however, were not being trafficked against their will, but rather attempting to migrate.
Nicaragua is the closest country connected by land to the United States that does not impose strict entry requirements upon citizens of many nations who are barred from flying to other destinations without a visa.
While some countries have imposed visa requirements upon certain nationalities under pressure from Washington, experts say that the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, has taken a contrarian approach in an attempt to weaponize migration and force negotiations over sanctions imposed on members of his inner circle.
“Ortega is being very astute by playing with what hurts the United States the most,” said Ana María Méndez, director for Central America at the Washington Office on Latin America, referring to the current migrant crisis and the political liability it represents for President Joe Biden heading into the 2024 election. “It’s like pouring alcohol on an open wound.”
In 2014, as another migrant crisis boiled over, Nicaragua imposed visa requirements on Cuban citizens to help stem the flow of migrants heading to the US border. But since then, relations between the two countries have deteriorated due to Ortega’s rigging of the 2021 election and a slew of human rights abuses.